God Says You Are Forgiven - August 30, 2013

Isaiah 43:25
25 “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.

Some of us, even though we're believers, think whenever we're having problems that God's getting even with us; that God is just trying to get back at us.

It's like the guy who was driving up to a mountain lake and, on the way up, it starts snowing, so he gets out to put chains on his tires. While he's doing this, another car comes along and slams into his car. And he watches in horror as his car goes over a cliff.

He continues up the mountain on foot, in the snow and sleet, and he's getting sick from the cold. Then, as he rounds a corner, he sees that his cabin has burned down. He starts hitting his head against the wall, and asks, "Why me, God." The heavens part and a voice says, "Because some people just tick me off."

Some of you really feel that is the way God feels about you. You think that whenever you've got a problem, God is ticked off. But the Bible says, "I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you." (Isaiah 43:25 TEV) God doesn't hold a grudge. If you have received Jesus as your Savior, then there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

A lot of people have this type of mentality when they are going through hard situations in their life. Always blaming God and thinking He is mad at you whenever there is a problem you have in your life is definitely NOT the way you should be thinking. Like the verse says,
"I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you." (Isaiah 43:25 TEV)
God never holds a grudge, he forgives all of our sins and proved it by having his son die on the cross. When you have struggles in your life you should never feel as though God is doing this to you because he is angry with you! Each and every one of us will go through hard times in our every day lives, but God always has a reason for everything that happens to us.
When I am experiencing difficult times in my life, I used to always blame God and even got to the point where I questioned if He is really there. But I realized that this is not the way I should be thinking, and problems won't be solved if I just always blame Him. So I started to have a different approach and mindset when I have problems in my life, and prayed a lot more to God. One thing that really helped me was remembering that everything has a reason for happening, God has a purpose for all of the things he does in our lives. All of the questions you have are already answered in the Bible. So you should always remember that when you are going through struggles in your lives!
God forgives all of our sins. We are all forgiven. Those who believe in Christ Jesus being your Savior will never be let down in the long run.

Our God is a God who forgives. How many times has God forgiven us? The answer is to many times for us to even count. We sin daily without even realizing that we've sinned. We may sometimes blame God for whatever misfortune that comes upon us and we may think that he is punishing us but our God isn't like that. He doesn't seek revenge and he doesn't hold any grudges. Like we've learned this past week, Everything has a purpose for God's plan. If you were driving up the mountain and some guy bumps your car off the cliff, and you get to your cabin and its aflame, instead of being ticked off and asking God why, you should expect for a miracle and have faith in God to turn this misfortune into a unforgettable experience.

I don't think the example corresponds to the main focus of this devotion. Although we may blame God for the troubles in our lives, I don't see how it relates to God forgiving our each and every sin. Even though God leads us to paths that we may dislike at certain moments, He mends us for a greater purpose. We mustn't forget that God is a merciful God, He washes away all our sins, regardless of severity. I remember I struggled with this, as I felt that I had to change before becoming Christian, as there were only some people with certain characteristics that would be accepted in His eyes. But He sees past our flaws, forgives us, and remains patient. We may even make the same mistakes twice and He's always waiting for us to return to Him. I think that's the beauty of His grace and unfailing love.

God doesn't allow bad things to happen in our lives for no reason, or just because He's angry with something. We may never understand why certain things happen, and why they happen the way they do, but we have to trust that God is doing this for a reason. It's not arbitrary. When bad things happen in our lives, it's not because God allowed it because He hates us, or He's trying to condemn us for any past sins, we were forgiven from them already. God allows these events to take place, maybe because it'll make us stronger, or to help us learn something or to benefit us in some way. We can't always have it our way, sometimes it can't just be always about ourselves.
Furthermore, when unfavourable things occur in our lives it's so easy to be angry with God, and fall back in our faith. Instead of falling back and being at ease with such an easier option, I think it's much better to take that leap of faith and experience difficulty, and trust that God will deliver us out of this. Some things are out of our control, and instead of growing hopelessly frustrated by trying to control a situation it might just be more easier to surrender it all to God, who knows how to control it.
Unfavourable things occurring in our lives is not because God is paying us back for our sins, it happens according to His Will, we just have to have faith and trust He has it under control.

Ermm. This one is sort of just w/e for me.

Most of the time, my frustration for the lack of something is usually directed at myself. Sooo yeah. This one doesn't really speak to me as much.

This one is one of the most encouraging devos I have done so far- because we are not God, we are far from perfect. The good news is that when we ask for forgiveness and repent, he forgives us and forgets our sins. Our God is all-powerful and mighty but also merciful and loving. As the devo pointed out, God does not try to get back at us for our sins, instead he offers us forgiveness for things we have done. In my personal life, when life throws curveballs, I tend to think "God, why are you doing this to me, why do I deserve this?" I put the blame on God for when things are not perfect in my own life, and I believed it was his intention of getting even with me. Reading this devotional reassures me that we can ask for forgiveness for our sins, and that God "will not hold your sin against you." Thank you God for the forgiveness of sins and the path to righteousness.

When bad things happen to you don't think that God is getting revenge think of it as if he's testing you. He just wants to see how you react in times of need and how you'll solve the issue. That way he can know how much faith you have.
Also keep in mind that everything happens for a reason and that God always has plans for you.

This message confuses me. I understand the part about how we often feel like the problems or bad situations in our lives are ways that God gets back at us for our sins- because I sometimes feel that way too. What I don't get is the part that says God completely forgives our sins and forgets them. I thought that when he returns all our sins will be accounted for and we will be judged. I guess that this message is telling us that throughout our lives here on earth, the bad things that happen aren't God's retribution for our sins. He forgives us for our sins when we repent but when we go to be with Him he will bring out all our sins again and judge us? Okay, now I'm just confused again. What I CAN take away from this is that we should never try to blame God for problems in our lives. He's not sitting up there planning little ways to make our lives harder as punishment. Everything he does in our lives is part of the big plan he has for each and every one of us.

Though I've never really had a reason to challenge God in the way the man in the story did, it's still nice knowing that we are forgiven. I also think this devo has a lot to do with the last few devos too. Acceptance and that the whole God is watching over us is very related to this devo. One part is that God told us that all sin is equal in his eyes. We'd be hard-pressed to say that a white lie is the same sin as murder, but if we seek God's forgiveness, nothing is unforgivable. Although we may commit a sin that we think God would never forgive, that's just us thinking with a worldly mind. It's more important that we concentrate on coming clean with God and asking him to forgive us. The other devo is related because a lot of the bad things that happen to us spiritually are caused by us. At times they might not even be bad. The way I see it, a lot of struggles are trials for us to struggle through and grow spiritually and sin has little to do with it. Though God has a righteous anger that he can unleash for disobeying his command, he never means for our punishments to hinder us from becoming closer with God. God would never put us in tough situations simply to smite us for doing wrong. Instead, he is always looking for ways to draw us near to him. Overall, this devo was a great reminder for me that God is a loving and forgiving God, no matter how much I've strayed from his command.

I used to have this mentality of quid pro quo with God quite a bit. I thought this because in pretty much all situations in my life it was true.
Do something good, get a reward; do something bad, get a punishment.

I think that it's only natural to think this way when you are raised in this society, until you start to understand grace. God's grace is something that is endless and unconditional, meaning it doesn't matter exactly how many times you mess up, God's grace will still be available to you. So instead of being angry with God, we can turn to Him and ask for forgiveness, believing that our request will be met.